


to speak or to die

by rilayacamren



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: AU, CMBYN AU, F/F, Greece, Greek - Freeform, Hizzie - Freeform, Slow Burn, american hope mikaelson, cmbyn but greek, greek lizzie saltzman, greek saltzman family, posie - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-07 14:53:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18412910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rilayacamren/pseuds/rilayacamren
Summary: Hope has a hard time with words and Lizzie has an abundance of themor a call me by your name auexcept greek“Is it better to speak or die?”





	1. chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I really do hope this turns out well. I do not intend in using full paragraphs or even full quotes from the book, I just intend to use the general storyline with tweaks. All that I will write and post will be 100% my words, I don't like taking credit for what is not mine. Please leave kudos and comments if you enjoy

_Almost._ That was the one word that haunted Lizzie to an immeasurable extent, creeping up on her when she was least expecting it to. Lizzie was _almost_ ok. Her family was _almost_ well put together. Her father was _almost_ always there for her. Her mother was _almost_ never gone. Her sister _almost_ didn’t think she was the worst person ever. To be fair these _‘almost’_ scenarios were fabricated by Lizzie’s darkest thoughts and although they may not be completely true, the truth each thought held was enough to rattle Lizzie to her core. _Almost_ was a petrifying feeling, yet Lizzie felt familiar with it, almost like it belonged to her. The word would continue on to haunt her all the way into her future, constantly reminding her that ‘ _almosts’_ are her cursed fate.

 

She rubs her eyes the next morning as she’s woken up by the sound of her mother’s voice calling her from beyond her bedroom door. Letting her eyes adjust to the brightness, she lays flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Hearing her mother call her once again, she decides she should get up and join the others in the kitchen. Stretching her limbs as she got out of bed, she brings herself to her feet and joins her family in the kitchen.

 

“Good morning mother. Good morning father. Josie prepared for the day so soon?”

Her mother plants a kiss on her forehead as she takes a seat next to her father who offers her a small smile before focusing back on his book. Her twin sister Josie sat across from her, dressed in a polka dot dress, perhaps ready to head out to town.

“I am going into town, a group of us are going to visit the beach.”

Lizzie simply hums in response, having just stuffed her face with crackers and cheese. She watches as her mother circles around her and takes a seat at the other end of the table. The four of them quietly enjoy their breakfast together. See everything is _almost_ fine between them. Yet Lizzie makes it rather difficult for herself to believe it.

“Alaric, darling. When will our next houseguest arrive?”

She looks up and watches her mother as she spoke before looking over to her father who has yet to put his book down. He doesn’t put his book down to answer, it bothers her for some unknown reason.

“She should be here soon. I suggest everything be ready by then.”

 

Lizzie knew what that meant. Excusing herself, she gets up from the table and gets ready before preparing her room for her father’s next houseguest. Every summer her father would have a college student spend the summer with him, mentoring them and helping them in their works. It was something she respected yet despised because she was always the one that would have to give up her room. As soon as she’s done preparing her room, she moves her items a room down from her bedroom to a vacant bedroom that once belonged to a family friend, Stefan Salvatore. This room was much smaller than her regular room, but nearly just as comfortable. Setting her things down in her new room for the next 2 months, she tidies the room up to her desire before making her way to the main living room. The main living room was not very big but comfortable. There was a couch, TV and a piano that Lizzie spent nearly all her time at. The living room lead into 3 smaller areas, the corridor that led to the rooms, a small crease that led to the dining room, which later led into the kitchen, and then a door that seemed to never open. The door led to her father’s study, no one really entered the room, it was mainly out of respect, the other reason is due to her father never really leaving the room unless necessary. Standing there lost in her thoughts she hears her mother’s voice break through the silence.

“Elizabeth the houseguest is outside, show her in please.”

 

She walks through the kitchen and out the door, as she’s rounding the corner, she sees a girl with reddish hair, pulling a bag out of the trunk of taxi. The girl was wearing jeans and a leather jacket and Lizzie marvels at the fact that this girl hasn’t had a heatstroke yet.

“Thanks!” She hears the red head say, before turning around and walking towards Lizzie. She’s wearing sunglasses and looks _cool_ as Americans would put it. It makes her nervous, and as she watches the new comer walk closer to her, her nerves only grow when she realizes that this girl is genuinely very attractive.

“Is this Dr. Saltzman’s residence?”

Lizzie only nods and silently asks her to follow her inside. Usually she wasn’t this abnormal with the houseguests, but she believes it might have to do with the fact that this is the youngest guest they’ve ever had, and unquestionably the most attractive. She has the girl follow her inside through the kitchen and into the living room where her mother, father and sister were all waiting. Her father is the first one to greet the new comer.

“Hope Mikaelson, a pleasure to meet you. I hope you enjoy your time being here.”

 

Hope. She likes her name, it was a nice contradiction of her exterior she thinks. Lizzie can already tell that Hope was going to be a puzzle she wasn’t going to be able to finish. Hope had taken off her sunglasses and revealed that she had a pair of icy blue eyes that made Lizzie feel the coolness of them in her bones. She lets out an unmerited shiver at the sight of them, she quickly feels her cheeks heat up in response to her shiver, thankfully no one was paying attention to her.

“Thank you.”

“Well then. This is my wife Caroline Forbes. My daughter Josette and my other daughter you already met, Elizabeth.”

They all trade off their greetings, Lizzie keeps quiet through the exchange, silently watching Hope, before her father asks her to show their guest to her room. Hope quietly follows her to the room before nodding her head in thanks, Lizzie doesn’t understand Americans. Why were they so curt and dense, she doesn’t dwell too much in the thought, she’s dealt with many Americans before, it was not anything new. She watches Hope throw her bag on the floor next to the bed before throwing herself onto the bed. Lizzie turns to leave before she hears Hope say something she couldn’t make out. Turning her head back around she sees the girl with her eyes closed, on the verge of sleep.

“Excuse me?”

“Could you close the door? Thanks.”

 

There’s that _thanks_ Lizzie loathes so strongly. She dislikes the word due to it curtness, it was such an American word she thinks. There was nothing hard in saying ‘thank you’ she doesn’t understand why Americans cannot fathom that in their minds. She closes the door as she walks away. She stops at her room to grab her notebook and pencil before returning to the living room she finds Josie with a bag in hand. Following her sister into the kitchen, she grabs an apple from the bowl of fruit on the table. She knows her sister was just going out because she wanted to see Penelope. She doesn’t say anything to her as she watches her say her goodbyes and walk out the kitchen door. Making her way outside, she walks over to a little table under a shady olive tree. There she spends the rest of her day, composing music and writing poetry.

 

Before she knew it, she was being called inside for lunch, her mother asks her to wake up Hope before joining at the dining table. She wanders down the corridor before arriving to the door Hope was behind. She knocks softly and patiently waits for some sort of acknowledgment. When nothing comes she decides to quietly open the door and peer inside. She was still fast asleep on the bed, she’s nearly in the same position Lizzie last saw her in, the only difference now was that she had taken off her jacket and thrown it to the side. Quietly entering the room, she tips toes around her until she is close enough to nudge her awake. She sees Hope open an eye and look at her after a few nudges. Clearly her throat, Lizzie takes a step back before speaking.

“Mother is calling everyone for lunch.”

She sees how Hope had shut her eye once again and sighed heavily.

“I’m good for now, thanks though.”

 

Feeling slightly offended at Hope’s rudeness, she determines it would better for her to make her way out of the room before she says something she really should not say. Turning on her heel she shuts the door and heads back towards the dining table. She sees her mother give her a questioning look when she returns alone.

“Where is Hope?”

“She said she’s ‘good for now’ and currently asleep.” She knows her tone sounds harsh, but she doesn’t really care, Hope is being ungrateful for the food her mother had made. Her mother is giving her a look that she interprets as ‘Elizabeth settle down’ and maybe she is overreacting, but she doesn’t know why, Hope is just irritating her already.  She takes a seat at the table and waits for her father to join, when he does her mother takes a seat as well and they eat silently.

 

She hated moments like these, she hated the silence in them, they felt suffocating and way too familiar, it made her skin crawl. She’s always been intimate with indistinct feelings, they all seemed to bridge together in her mind, causing her to constantly be in a state of mind where she couldn’t recognize what was factual and what wasn’t. Her family was aware of those notions of hers, she believes they are ashamed of her, so she undertook the responsibility of staying closed off and keeping to herself. She helps her mother clean up the table before traveling back to her regular seat under the olive tree. She spends some more time under the tree peacefully writing, soon enough she grows restless and opts on taking a bike ride into town.


	2. chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> how much of a slowburn will this be? idk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the poem is actually one i took out of the book i wrote and that i might never publish :)

Lizzie loved living in Delphi, although she lived in the outskirts, it was historically beautiful, there was an ancient beauty in its land, the story of the gods and goddesses in this area of Greece were some of her favorite. Yet there were times where she wanted to be in any other place in the world. All the stories she grew up with made her feel lonely and powerless at times, she knew it was childish, taking all those stories to heart, but at times she could care less.

She gets up from her table and roams back inside and towards her room, she drops her journal off on her bed before sauntering back outside. Immediately beelining for her bicycle that rests against the outside of her home, she jumps on it and travels down the dirt road that leads towards town. The trip takes approximately an hour on foot, on bicycle it takes around twenty-five minutes, and by vehicle it takes about ten minutes. She wishes she were capable of driving, everything would be much easier.

 

Although biking all the way to town and then back is exhausting at times, she finds the trip relaxing. It was quiet there and back, only passing by her distant neighbors on her way towards Delphi, she enjoys the sun on her skin and the wind against her face. Summer in Greece is beautiful, perhaps she says that because she is bias, but she has traveled to numerous other countries and yet none seem to match Greece’s beauty in her eyes. Her family feels just the same.

Both of her parents were born in America and lived there most of their youth and teenage years. They met in Athens, both were studying abroad when she bumped into each other on a night out. Her father explained it once as instant spark, she remembers the slight sparkle in his eyes when he said it, it nearly made her heart warm, but she knew her mother had a different outlook on it. Her mother loved her father yes, but she knew that she only did for herself and her sister. Her mother’s one true love has been and will always be Stefan Salvatore, Lizzie could tell. She had become a master at studying hidden feelings, that is because she herself had secret feelings she did a perplexing job at hiding.

 

Arriving to town, she rides around a bit before deciding to try and find her sister and her friends in an attempt to distract herself from her thoughts. Riding towards the beach, she tracks down the usual passage her sister would go down, hopefully finding her at the end. She comes to a stop when she reaches the sand and can no longer ride her bicycle. Hopping off the bicycle, she sets it down against a shady tree and walks her way down to the beach.

She looks around in search for her sister when she finally spots a familiar looking curly haired boy. Her eyes follow him and sees that her sister is indeed by him. She treads over to Josie who was joined by Penelope and Landon. Penelope and Landon were both Americans as well. They were in Greece studying abroad for the next year, much to her sister’s delight. Lizzie remembers when her sister met the short haired girl, she saw her sister’s eyes light up in a way she’s never seen before, she decided to stay silent about her observation, it was not her secret to tell.

 

“Lizzie what are you doing here?”

 

“Oh, Penelope do not tell me you are sadden by my presence now.” She sees the tanned girl smugly look at her before extending a hand in greeting. She smiles at this, she savored the ‘philia’ type connection she had with Penelope, the other relished it just as much.

 

“Never. What made you decide to leave your thoughts and join the real world?” She smirks at Penelope’s words as she takes a seat next on the sand, Josie on her left.

 

“I don’t know, there could be that mayhap chance that I had enough self-loathing for the day.”

 

Her answer results in the group laughing softly, she feels her sister nudge her shoulder gently before laying back on the sand. The rest of their afternoon was spent in pleasant company, but soon enough it began to get dark out and they all thought it be best to retire back to their homes. They bid their farewells and continue their journeys home. Josie is quiet most of the ride back, she thinks that her sister is wrapped in thoughts that include Penelope Park, she almost wants to talk to her about it.

She wants to tell her that those feelings were ok, that she wasn’t immoral for loving a woman. _I’m like you,_ she thinks, but the words don’t leave her lips. Those words stay imprinted into her mind and heart, slowly eating away at her. That’s possibly the only thing her sister and herself have in common, the blasphemous fact that they felt their hearts skip a beat at the sight of bewitching women.

 

“Penny for your thoughts sister?” Lizzie’s brought out of her inner dialogue when her sister speaks up. She looks over at Josie who is slowly biking next to her. Hesitant in answering, she clears her throat as she looks forward once again. She’s unsure on voicing her actual thoughts out loud but decides to do so nonetheless.

 

“You are rather fond of Penelope.” She hears her sister stop suddenly, she looks back and sees her sister staring down at the ground. She brings herself to a stop as well and looks forward again, instantly regretting saying anything whatsoever.

 

“Why would you say that Lizzie?” There’s silence between the both of them, she’s shaky when she looks back at her sister. Josie is shooting daggers at her with her eyes and she doesn’t know how she can change the conversation without making it even more unpleasant.

 

“Josie it’s ok. There is nothing wrong with that. I understand the feeling.” She can see Josie’s features begin to soften at her words. Her heart is in her throat for two reasons alone. The first being the conversation at hand with her sister. The second reason is that she just admitted to something she still had a personal struggle with.

 

“Let’s never speak of this again please. What is yours is yours and what is mine is mine.” She knew what Josie meant by that. Her secrets are her own and my secrets are my own. She’s never been more thankful for her sister than in that moment. They continue biking home and arrive just as the sun disappeared behind the horizon.

 

They set their bikes in their usual spots before entering inside, only to find her mother in the kitchen preparing what looked to be late night snacks. They both plant a kiss on their mother’s cheek before continuing on into the living room where they find their father and Hope talking about something. Getting closer she registers that the conversation at hand is about new research they had found nearby at the Temple of Apollo. As they enter the room their father notices them and greets them instantly. Lizzie cannot help but let her eyes linger on Hope as she watches the girl read a book in her hands.

There was a silent beauty to Hope, she doesn’t know what it is exactly, but something about Hope calls to her silently, beckoning her to solve the puzzle that she is. She shakes herself from her thoughts when she realizes she was being spoken to, glancing down at the source, she finds those same icy blue eyes from earlier staring at her in question.

 

“I’m sorry what was the question?” She hears Hope chuckle at her and feels herself blush because what if she was obvious in her stares earlier, she doesn’t let herself linger over that thought too longer as she hears the question being asked again.

 

“Would you be able to show me into town tomorrow?”

 

“Yes, of course.” Swallowing the lump in the back of her throat, she sees her father give her a soft smile in response. Looking over at Hope, the girl was watching in her with an unreadable expression before looking back down at her book, she could feel her heart beating out of her chest for some reason. She looks around for the giant clock they had on the living room wall and realizes that it is getting late, so she opts to head to bed. She mutters out a goodnight to everyone before heading into her bedroom for the night. Turning on the night lamp on the desk next to the bed, she takes a seat and begins to write in her journal.

 

\---

 

_Woman_

_You are so delicate_

_and strong_

_I tend to have a hard time_

_wrapping my mind around_

_the fact that you_

_could nurture my broken heart_

_back to health_

_but can also break it_

_and not give me a second thought_

_\---_

 

As she was finished writing she hears a soft knock on her down. Scrambling to shut her notebook, she chucks it on the bed and grabs a copy of the Iliad she had on her desk and opens it and pretends to be reading when she asks the person knocking to come in. Hearing the door open she looks up and sees Josie walking in. She sets the book down as she watches Josie take a seat on her bed. Angling her body towards her, she silently waits for her to say something. They sit in silence for a little while longer until she hears Josie break the silence.

 

“I am attracted to Penelope,” There is a pause after Josie’s words, she looks up and sees her sister looking down at the floor, she’s not quite sure how she can comfort her sister in that moment, so she just listens silently and carefully. She hears Josie sigh deeply before continuing.

 

“I can’t begin to fathom why, but I know that it was instant. It feels as though my heart and hers are linked together as one. Almost like we were meant to find one another.”

 

She gently reaches for her sister’s hand at her confession and offers a kind smile as some sort of comfort.

 

“Do not let anyone take that away from you Josie. Not even our parents, not even me.”

 

She can see Josie’s entire body relax at her words, just as she notices a lone tear slip from her sister’s eyes she reaches up and wipes it off. There was a sad smile painted on Josie’s lips, it made her heart ache for her sister, she knows how she must be feeling right now. It destroys her from the inside, not being able to do anything to ease her sister’s heart ache. They sit in silence for a little while longer, enjoying one another’s company.

 

“I should go to bed, thank you Lizzie.” She smiles softly at her sister who was rising up from the bed and heading to the door. Josie stops at the door suddenly and turns back around to face her, a sad smile on her lips once again.

 

“I am here to talk if you ever need it as well.” She smiles at that and gives her a small nod of acknowledgement. And with that Josie is out of her room and she is once again left alone with her thoughts. Sighing heavily, she gets up and lays on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. There she slips into sleep, mind still racing with the thought of Hope for some reason unknown to her.


End file.
